Manchester United Transfer News: Gary Neville Wants 2 Stars to Match Barcelona

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has urged his old club to execute some audacious moves in the transfer market and sign two world-class players to put them back on a par with European champions Barcelona.

Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast this week, the ex-right-back proclaimed manager Louis van Gaal is just a couple of signings away from winning the Premier League (h/t Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News):

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If you put two more players into Manchester United's team, say a Gareth Bale or a Cristiano Ronaldo into that team, that team could win the league. Because the structure that is being built at this moment in time is solid.

But they need that matchwinner, that Neymar, that Luis Suarez, the one that is going to light up a game and score one or two goals to take it away, then all of a sudden they would look like a Barcelona, because they're dominating possession, making teams look foolish.

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All signs suggest Neville's judgement is on the money. According to Squawka, United have the joint-highest possession rate in the Premier League (55 percent) and have played more passes than any other outfit (7,728).

However, the 20 goals they've scored is the lowest tally of any team in the top five and is some 10 goals fewer than leaders Manchester City, suggesting the club's main woes do indeed lie in attack.

Midfielder Juan Mata is the club's top scorer in the league this season with four goals to his name, while Anthony Martial has struggled to maintain a blistering start and captain Wayne Rooney has been way off the pace.

Neville went on to note the Red Devils "didn't full commit" during the final stages of Saturday's 1-1 draw against Leicester City, but the Guardian's Richard Whittall was far more forthright in his criticism:

On the bright side, the 10 goals United have conceded this term means they boast the best defence in the English top flight, with Chris Smalling and Daley Blind emerging as a shockingly effective tag team at centre-back.

Considering the team sit just a point off the Premier League lead as things stand, there's no reason to suggest United aren't capable of clinching the 2015-16 crown, but Neville wants to see more from the squad:

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I do think they are quite close when I think about it with my head, but my heart thinks I'd like to see them die trying a little bit more and go for it. But he's a year-and-a-half in, Louis van Gaal, and he should get a lot more time to do what he wants to do. I was in the same opinion when David Moyes was at Manchester United, and I'm in the same opinion now.

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Van Gaal encountered some criticism for promoting stale tactics earlier this season in the wake of three consecutive 0-0 draws, but results (and the team's goal count) have since picked up.

Luckhurst agrees that "stardust" is needed up front, while FourFourTwo's Elko Born believes the current lack of quality could influence whether Pep Guardiola arrives at Old Trafford (via Telegraph's Sam Wallace):

There's little doubt the Red Devils are at least making improvements this season. But the lack of flair up front is unfamiliar to fans, most of all Neville, who became so accustomed to promoting some of the best football in Europe during his career.

This season's success is likely to play a big hand in who United are able to lure in the summer, however, meaning the club is better off concentrating on the assets they have for now, instead of lusting over those they don't.